Celebrating life at Barchester

One of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program is live musical entertainment. Resident involvement in choosing genres along with feedback after each performance means that we are able to constantly improve our activities calendar.

Werrington Lodge received a visit from the musical duo "Boots and Cats". They played hits from across the years to keep spirits high moving into 2026. There were hands a clapping and toes a tapping. Smiles all around.

At Werrington Lodge we love opening our home up and hosting events that friends and family can join us for. Shared experiences are the best experiences and we ensure that our residents remain connected with their loved ones whilst they live with us. 

The home was transformed into Graceland to mark what would have been Elvis Presley’s 91st birthday on 8th January. The spirit of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was alive and well as residents were treated to a high energy performance from Elvis Presley tribute act.

It is estimated that Elvis has sold over one billion records worldwide so to honour the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the staff and residents enjoyed a fantastic morning of music, with performer Peter, clad in a signature rhinestone- studded jumpsuit.

All the residents said: “We loved Elvis growing up. Listening to all his old hits has brought back so many memories.  We’ve all had a brilliant time reminiscing about our dance hall days!”

Activities Co-ordinator, Tina said: “Pete did not just the hits, he really brought the legendary Elvis charisma to all!”

General Manager, Larisa Bledea, said: “Lots of our residents are big Elvis fans and love his music.  We’ve had a fantastic day listening to all his hits performed by Peter, who is a brilliant tribute act. We all surprised ourselves by how many we remembered!”
 

Our Activities Team is dedicated to ensuring that we organise events that encourage our residents to host their families and friends at Werrington Lodge. Our home is always to open to loved ones who wish to take part in our life enrichment program.

Its was very busy Christmas Day at Werrington Lodge this year. The Residents opened their presents with a little help from Santa's Elves. The it was off for a three course Christmas lunch with all the trimmings and it was great to welcome family and friends.

Residents at Awel y Mor were treated to a wonderfully entertaining pantomime performance this year, as North East Productions returned to visit us once again. The show brought plenty of laughter and excitement, with residents thoroughly enjoying getting involved and joining in with the fun throughout the performance. There were many smiles as the lively characters, colourful costumes and humorous moments filled the room with festive cheer.

A particular highlight of the afternoon was when a member of our staff joined the cast on stage, delighting residents by becoming part of the act as the princess at the end of the show. This year’s pantomime, Puss in Boots, was a huge hit, and residents have already shared how much they would love to see the production return again next.

Residents at Awel y Mor recently enjoyed a delightful cheese and wine afternoon that brought everyone together for a relaxed and sociable experience. A wide selection of cheeses was beautifully prepared, offering something for every taste, alongside delicious accompaniments including stuffed peppers, olives, crisps and a variety of dips. The spread encouraged residents to sample new flavours while chatting and sharing their favourites with friends.

The afternoon was filled with laughter and festive cheer as residents also took part in a selection of fun Christmas-themed games. Seasonal music played in the background, with many residents happily listening along and reminiscing to well-known Christmas songs. The event created a warm, welcoming atmosphere and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

At Awel y Mor, we value opportunities like these to promote social interaction, enjoyment and wellbeing, and this cheese and wine afternoon was a wonderful example of how shared experiences can create lasting smiles and happy memories.

The home was delighted to welcome guest speakers Sian Meehan from Dementia Forward, Sian spoke to the visiting professionals about the invaluable work taking place in and around Yorkshire by the group, supporting those living with or who have been touched by the effects of dementia.

It was wonderful and inspiring to listen to the incredible efforts by the visiting professionals, including Camilla Greenwood from Greenwood Solicitors, Gemma Foley from Rainbow Dementia Day Care and Sarah Cookson from Switalskis Solicitors speaking about their own contributions in wishing to better our communities.

The Residents at Oaklands enjoy at least three activities planned by our Lifestyle enrichment team.

They had asked if they could make some bird seed balls as it had been very cold and they all enjoy watching the birds from lounge at Oaklands. The Activities Team got the materials and voila their feathery friends have been well fed.

At Oaklands we support and encourage our residents to continue doing the things they love whilst also making new friends and exploring new adventures.

We went on a lovely little outing to Otter Garden Centre with a couple of our residents.
The Christmas displays were beautiful and the singing yeti’s made us all chuckle. it really got us in the mood to start Christmas shopping and with all the lovely ideas there we came home with a few presents for the great grandchildren!
Of course, we had to stop in the cafe and have coffee and cake, the traditional fruit cake and cherry bakewell really hit the spot and gave us the energy to continue shopping
When we got back Brenda one of our residents said what a lovely idea it was to go and that she was now feeling “very festive”.

Our residents had a masterclass Christmas baking session with our Head Chef Ian.
Residents gathered together rolled out pastry cases and filled them with festive mincemeat and baked them for a delicious afternoon treat.
Chef Ian said “this is the best part of my job, I get to come out of the kitchen and really interact with our residents, we had a lot of fun and made some really good mince pies which we ate after with a nice cuppa”
The residents enjoyed making them, and it’s never to early in December for a mince pie!